Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security

Electromagnetic Weapons, Biochemical Effects

█ BRIAN HOYLE

Electromagnetic weapons—also known as E-bombs—are designed
to release a high-power flash of radio waves or microwaves. Depending on
the energy of the electromagnetic pulse, effects can range from the
disabling of electronic circuitry to physiological effects in those
exposed to the electromagnetic pulse.

The pulse released by an electromagnetic weapon lasts for an extremely
short time, around 100 picoseconds (one ten-billionth of a second). The
absorption of this blast of high energy by anything capable of conducting
electricity, including nerves and neurons, overwhelms the recipient.

Research and development into the effects of electromagnetic weapons on
human beings and animals was underway in the 1940s. The Japanese spent
considerable sums of money on the development of a "Death
Ray" between 1940 and 1945. A review of these studies by the United
States military concluded that it was possible to develop a weapon that
would produce an electromagnetic ray capable of killing humans five to 10
miles away from the source.

Animal studies have demonstrated the lethal nature of electromagnetic
radiation. In the studies, wavelengths ranging from 60 centimeters
destroyed the lung cells of mice and ground hogs. Wavelengths less than
two meters also destroyed brain cells.

Electronic stimulation can have other, nonlethal effects on humans. Secret
research conducted in the United States following World War II
demonstrated that electronic stimulation of different regions of the brain
of test subjects could produce extreme emotions of rage, lust, and
fatigue. Another research program, dubbed "Operation
Knockout," operated at the Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal,
Canada, with funding from the Central Intelligence Agency. The
study's director, Dr. Ewen Cameron, discovered that electroshock
treatments caused amnesia. Memories could be erased, and the subjects
reprogrammed. Once these "psychic driving" experiments
became public, Cameron—then a pre-eminent psychiatrist, endured
harsh public and professional criticism.

In the 1960s, the U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA)
studied the health and psychological effects of low energy microwaves for
weapons applications. The ability of microwaves to damage the heart,
create leaks in blood vessels in the brain, and to produce hallucinations
were demonstrated.

Many scientists assume that research into the debilitating effects of
electromagnetic radiation has continued up to the present day. However,
increasing restrictions on the information obtainable through the U.S.
Freedom of Information Act have made verification difficult. A 1993U.S.
Air Command and Staff College paper entitled "Non Lethal Technology
and Air Power" documented low frequency, "acoustic"
and high power microwave weapons that could deter or debilitate humans.

Low frequency electromagnetic waves, also known as acoustic waves, have
been commonly used for decades in functions such as ultrasound machines.
However, acoustic waves can also cause internal organs of humans to
vibrate. The result can be nausea, diarrhea, earache, and mental
confusion. The discomfort increases as one gets closer to the source.

Shorter wavelength electromagnetic radiation produces different effects. A
common example is microwave radiation, which in a microwave oven can be
used to heat up foods and liquids. When directed at humans, a microwave
weapon causes atoms to vibrate, which in turn generates heat. At 200 yards
away, body temperature increases from the normal 98.6° F to
107° F. At closer range, the temperature increase can be even
higher, and is lethal.

Microwave electromagnetic weapons can also stun a victim. This is the
result of the stimulation of peripheral nerves. The simultaneous activity
of many nerves over-whelms the capacity of the brain to process the
incoming information, and can induce unconsciousness.

The biochemical effect of microwave exposure is dependent on the distance
from the source, as electromagnetic fields become much weaker as the
distance from the source increases.

Experiments with very low frequency electromagnetic radiation have
demonstrated that the radiation can induce the brain to release chemicals
that induce slumber, or to release a chemical called histamine. In human
volunteers, the histamine release produces flu-like symptoms, which
dissipate when the radiation stops.

Not all electromagnetic weapons are cloaked in military secrecy. A device
called the Pulse Wave Myotron is commercially available. The Myotron emits
rapid pulses of electromagnetic radiation. The pulses incapacitate the
movement of voluntary muscles by over riding the electrical pulse that
normally flows from nerve to nerve within the muscles. Involuntary
muscles, such as the heart and muscles that operate the lungs, are
unaffected. Thus, a victim is rendered incapable of movement or speech.
The effect lasts until the muscles can repolarize; approximately 30
minutes.